Book Review & Giveaway: The Inbetweens – The Crossing by Nikki Aksamit

Title: The Inbetweens – The Crossing

Author:  Nikki Aksamit

Publisher: R3 Publishing (May 1, 2012)

Originally from Canada, Nikki Aksamit is a free-lance writer and author living in Chandler, AZ with her wonderfully exhausting young children Rook, Rohan and Reesyn, and the head of her imaginary fan club, husband Sevin. An advocate for children and children’s education, Nikki is the President of the “Mommy, What is…? Project”, a non-profit organization created to provide pre-schools, schools and libraries with educational books for young readers.

Set in a simpler time, when water came from a well and families worked together to run their village, the children in the story of “The Inbetweens” must embark on a perilous one day, cross-country journey that every child of their age is expected to take – the journey of The Crossing. Brynn, Paulo and Ryu have all heard stories of The Crossing from their families and others in their village, stories of its treacherous terrain and the many obstacles encountered by those that had walked its path before them. Their own parents warned that many children have not returned home, lost somewhere during the arduous journey, never to be found. But it will be those who are deliberately not spoken of who will put the three children in the greatest danger. This is the secret of The Crossing that is kept by all who have walked its path. Each child finds that the one truth of the journey is that no amount of teachings could fully prepare them for all that they will endure. The children will have to rely on their inner strength and the strength of their friendship if they wish to navigate the path of The Crossing without being lost. The Riddles found etched into stone along the way will challenge the children’s perceptions of trust, the truth, and especially themselves. The Somethings and The Nothings will try to trick, mislead, help, guide and sometimes even entertain them during their travels. Together Ryu, Brynn and Paulo must decide how to find their way home, and in the end, together they must decide which one of them won’t be going home at all.

I was very excited to read this book because like the author, I’ve been having a hard time trying to find new, really good books with moral lessons for my daughters to read. Sometimes, instead of buying them those new titles featured in the bookstores, I find myself choosing books I’ve read as a child instead and letting them read those. Nikki Aksamit wanted to write a book that is meaningful instead of something just merely entertaining. I believe she succeeded in doing that.

Initially, since it’s a book about an adventure, I expected it to be something like the Harry Potter series. After reading a few pages, I found that it’s a lot simpler in the sense that there aren’t so many complicated characters. The three protagonists, Ryu, Brynn and Paulo, though they lived a long time ago, are actually characters that kids nowadays will find easy to relate to, mostly because they go through the same basic issues of growing up, making mistakes and learning life lessons. 

Having said that, the author was able to make the book exciting but at the same time successfully infuse it with a lot of moral lessons, which I love. These moral lessons are basic things that moms and dads all around the world try to teach their kids but sometimes find it hard to do so, such as doing the right thing, focusing on the important matters, taking consequences for our actions and learning to work as a team. 

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this for school-age kids. It’s nice and easy to read but exciting and action-packed as well. I look forward to reading more from this author.

The author, Nikki Aksamit, has so generously sponsored this giveaway. She will be sending ONE (1) COPY of THE INBETWEENS – THE CROSSING to one (1) lucky winner. The giveaway is open worldwide. Just follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter widget below.